Private Parking Firms Hit a Record 16.9 Million Tickets as Watchdog Steps In

Private parking companies issued 16.9 million tickets to UK drivers in the year to the end of March 2026, according to RAC analysis of DVLA keeper-detail requests. That is up from 14.4 million the year before and more than double the 6.8 million issued in 2018/19. The rise has pulled in a competition watchdog now investigating whether one of the country’s biggest operators is fining drivers unfairly for simply buying fuel.

The Competition and Markets Authority opened a formal investigation into Euro Car Parks on 16 July, examining whether it is fair for the company to issue parking charges to drivers who are queuing for, or using, petrol pumps and other forecourt services such as car washes. The CMA is also looking at the firm’s wider appeals process, covering both petrol stations and car parks.

The regulator stressed it has reached no conclusions and Euro Car Parks has not been found to have broken the law. But the case sits inside a wider package of action the CMA launched the same day, after what it called “record numbers” of complaints from motorists about unclear signage, broken ticket machines and faulty apps.

Private car parks sit outside the criminal enforcement system that covers council-run parking. A council penalty charge notice is a civil debt enforced through the traffic tribunal system, with a defined set of statutory grounds for appeal. A private parking charge is technically a contractual claim, based on the argument that a driver agreed to the terms on a sign simply by parking there. That legal distinction is why signage plays such a large role in this sector: if the contract was never made clear, drivers have a genuine argument that no agreement existed at all.

Who Is Being Charged, and Why

Emma Cochrane, the CMA’s Executive Director of Consumer Protection, said being issued with a parking charge can be a stressful experience, with costs that are high and often unexpected. “Parking companies must treat motorists fairly at all stages, and a clear and consistent appeals process must be at the heart of this,” she said. “It’s time for all private parking operators to comply with consumer law or risk action from the CMA.”

Alongside the Euro Car Parks investigation, the CMA has written to other private parking operators setting out concerns about how they handle appeals and about additional fees charged when firms try to recover unpaid parking charges. It has also written to the industry’s trade associations, calling on them to improve appeals handling and communication with drivers now, rather than waiting for new rules to force the issue.

Five companies accounted for nearly half of all DVLA keeper-detail requests made by parking firms in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year: ParkingEye, Euro Car Parks, Horizon Parking, Smart Parking and APCOA Parking. Each DVLA request typically precedes a parking charge notice sent to a registered keeper’s home address, often weeks after the alleged contravention took place.

The scale of the rise is stark set against a static backdrop. The UK’s car parc has grown only modestly over the same period, while the number of tickets issued by private operators has jumped by roughly 150%. Each of those 16.9 million tickets typically starts life as a request to the DVLA for the registered keeper’s name and address, submitted so the parking firm can send a penalty notice by post, often weeks after the driver has forgotten the visit ever happened. A standard charge runs to around £100, which on the RAC’s figures puts the value of tickets issued this year at close to £1.7 billion before any discounts or successful appeals are taken into account.

Why the Rules Still Favour the Parking Firms

A single, legally-backed Code of Practice for the private parking sector has been years in development and is meant to force operators to use plain, consistent signage and a fair appeals process. But accredited operators only have to meet the new code in full by 31 December 2026. Existing car parks can keep running under older signage until that deadline passes, which means many of the 16.9 million tickets issued this year were handed out under rules the industry itself is still phasing out.

That gap counts for a lot: unclear or poorly positioned signs are among the most common grounds for successfully challenging a parking charge. If a driver cannot reasonably have known the terms that applied, an appeal against the charge has a real chance of succeeding, whether the case goes to the operator, an independent appeals service, or eventually a court.

Under the CMA’s new consumer protection powers, a company found to have broken the law can be fined up to 10% of its global turnover, or £300,000 if that figure is higher. Euro Car Parks has separately appealed an earlier £473,000 penalty issued by the CMA for failing to comply with an information notice, a case that remains ongoing and is distinct from the new investigation into its parking practices.

The recommendations the CMA has sent to government go further than the current code. They call for parking operators to be required to make drivers aware of their rights at the point a charge is issued, not buried in the small print of a later letter, and for a fresh look at “consideration periods”, the window a driver has to settle or appeal a charge before extra fees start being added. Until those changes are written into binding rules, drivers are left relying on an appeals process that varies from operator to operator and on the industry’s own, non-statutory Appeals Charter.

How to Fight Back

The CMA has published five practical steps for drivers dealing with a parking charge, whether or not it ends up being contested.

First, check the rules posted at the specific car park every time, even at a familiar location. Car parks belonging to the same supermarket or retail chain can run under different terms from site to site.

Second, do not assume free parking is automatic simply for being a paying customer. Some gyms, restaurants and supermarkets require drivers to register their vehicle or scan a receipt before the free period applies.

Third, keep evidence if anything goes wrong. Photograph a broken payment machine, a car that will not start, or any unusual signage, and keep receipts and payment confirmations in case an appeal becomes necessary later.

Fourth, do not ignore a parking charge notice, even one you believe is wrong. Appeal to the operator within 14 days to preserve the Early Payment Discount, which typically halves the charge, in case the appeal fails.

Fifth, know the rules that already exist. Under the industry’s Appeals Charter, a charge should be cancelled outright if a driver has evidence showing they were exempt, such as a genuine emergency outside their control. It should be reduced to £20 in specific circumstances, including cases where a driver paid the correct fee but mistyped their registration number.

Drivers who believe a parking operator has broken consumer law can report their experience to the CMA, which is using complaints data to decide where to focus future enforcement action. If an appeal to the operator itself is rejected, drivers can usually take the case to an independent appeals service, such as the one run for members of the sector’s trade associations, at no cost. That step is often skipped. Industry figures suggest a large share of drivers who receive a parking charge simply pay it rather than challenge it, even when the underlying signage or process would not have survived a proper appeal.

The regulator’s investigation into Euro Car Parks is expected to run until spring 2027, well after millions more tickets will have been issued under the current rules. For now, the burden of spotting unfair signage, a broken machine or an unclear tariff sits with the driver at the moment they park, not with the operator collecting the fee.

Sources:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/parking-charges-cma-takes-action-to-drive-improvements-for-motorists
• https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/euro-car-parks-consumer-protection-enforcement-case
• https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/private-parking-firms-on-track-to-issue-nearly-14.5m-tickets/
• https://www.itfleet.co.uk/post/the-rac-predicts-a-record-14-5-million-parking-tickets-will-be-issued-between-2024-25